1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image information processing system for generating radiation image information from a patient at a hospital, for example, and reading the radiation image information from a stimulable phosphor sheet or the like which has recorded the above radiation image information, or, directly generating the radiation image information using a solid state sensor and performing image processing on the thus generated radiation image information, and particularly, to an image information processing system for receiving radiation image information generated by a radiation image generation device such as a radiation image reading device, performing the predetermined image processing on the received radiation image information, and then outputting the processed radiation image information to an image outputting device in association with patient information.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, there is used a system for recording and reproducing radiation image information utilizing a stimulable phosphor which, when exposed to radiation (i.e., X-rays, α-rays, β-rays, γ-rays, electronic beams, ultra-violet rays, etc.), stores a portion of that radiation energy and then, when exposed to stimulating rays such as laser light, visible light or the like, produces photostimulated luminescence corresponding to the stored energy.
An radiation image information processing system has been proposed and made practical in JP 63-253348 A, JP 1-227139 A, JP 4-123173 A and JP 4-155581 A by the present assignee as examples of this type of radiation image information recording and reproducing system. Such system includes a radiation image reading device for scanning with a laser or other such stimulating rays a stimulable phosphor sheet on which the radiation image information of the patient is temporarily stored and recorded by photographing a patient at a hospital, for example, by means of an X-ray image capturing device or the like, to generate a photostimulated luminescence, and photoelectrically reading the photostimulated luminescence obtained to produce image data; an identification information recording device for registering identification information pertaining to the patient; and an image recording device for recording in relation to the registered identification information pertaining to the patient the radiation image as a visible image on a recording material such as a photographic photo-sensitive material based on the image data that has been obtained.
In this conventional type, of radiation image information processing system, before the image of the patient is captured, or at the time when the image is captured, identification (ID) information containing patient information such as the name, sex, date of birth and identification (ID) number and capturing information regarding the taking of the image, such as the date when the image was taken, the region that was taken, the method by which the image was taken and bar code information regarding the stimulable phosphor sheet onto which the image was captured are registered in the identification information recording device (i.e., ID terminal) which is disposed close to the radiation image capturing device and the like. On the other hand, the ID terminal sends to the radiation image information reading device such information as the registered identification information, conditions for the processing of the radiation image which has been read with the radiation image information reading device, information pertaining to the destination to which the processed radiation image is to be outputted (i.e., the destination to which the image data is delivered) conditions for the outputting of the process radiation image at the image recording device, and also, the destination to which the outputted radiation image is to be distributed, such as an internal medicine department or surgery department of a hospital, for example, or other such dispensary departments or clinics.
Then, at the radiation image information reading device, a bar code which is on the back side of the stimulable phosphor sheet is read and this bar code is associated with the patient ID information obtained from the ID terminal, and also, the radiation image information which has been captured is read from the stimulable phosphor sheet, the image processing and other such processing are performed in accordance with the processing conditions which have been obtained, and the processed radiation image which has been thus obtained is sent to the image recording device together with the output conditions. At the image recording device, the processed radiation image is outputted as a hard copy image such as a permeable film image being equivalent to an X-ray film image or reflected paper image based on the obtained output conditions. The outputted radiation image is distributed by a well-known means to a distributing destination obtained from the ID terminal.
In other words, in the conventional radiation image information processing system disclosed in the above-mentioned publications, the radiation image information reading device is capable of reading vast quantities of the stimulable phosphor sheet, and because of decreased costs it is possible to use more than one radiation image information reading device, and therefore, even if it is connected to one or to a plurality of radiation image information reading devices and a plurality of ID terminals, and the ID terminal is made so that it can be arranged close to not only the device for capturing the radiation image but also close to a reception desk or such of the hospital, the dispensary departments or clinics, or such so that the input of the patient information and the cross-check of the stimulable phosphor sheet against the patient information at the image capturing device is made easy and efficient, and, no matter which ID terminal registered the stimulable phosphor sheet, it is still possible for a freely chosen radiation image information reading device to read this and it is possible to achieve efficient operation of the radiation image information reading devices.
Incidentally, in the capturing of the radiation image it is possible for failures (referred to as “picture damage”) to occur due to various causes. For example, in cases ranging from simple cases such as the case when the patient, who is the subject to be photographed, moves inadvertently, to cases such as the case of a setup miss in which the conditions for the taking of the image (ex, the quantity of X-rays or the like) are set inappropriately, picture damage can result due to the various causes.
These types of picture damage are discovered not at the time of the taking of the image, but at a point after a duration of time has elapsed (specifically, when the doctor makes a diagnosis, or inspects the images), and therefore, in order to correct the problems and retake the image it is first necessary to know how the conditions for taking the image are configured in the beginning. However, conventionally, in the case where this type of picture damage occurs the damaged picture image itself and the conditions of the image taking are destroyed, so there is the problem that when the image is to be retaken (retaking of the image is abbreviated as “retaking”) it is necessary to input the conditions for the taking of the image all over again.
One reason why this problem arises is because the time of the taking of the image and the time when the taken image is used (which is mentioned above as the time when the doctor makes the diagnosis or inspects the image) are different times, and so the picture damage is only discovered after a certain amount of time from the taking of the image has elapsed, and even if this is not the case the problem would still arise because when the image is judged to be damaged, the damaged picture image is destroyed together with the conditions for the taking of the image.